The Shawna Forde story has been weird to cover from the moment she first called The Herald newsroom in December 2008 and asked whether we’d be writing a story about what proved to be her bogus report to Everett police about bei
ng raped a few hours before.
It has continued to be weird right up until today, even as our pages and website featured news about Forde being sentenced to die for two murders in Arizona.
The political overtones of the case, and the sheer horror Forde visited upon a family in Arivaca, Ariz., have made headlines around the globe. Here in Everett, though, some continue to urge us to ignore the story.Forde grew up here. Back when she ran for city council in 2007, she managed to get nearly 6,000 votes despite a campaign marred by her bizarre conviction for shoplifting a bottle of chocolate milk. But once the rape story broke and immediately began falling apart — once Forde was exposed as a felon, a liar, a thief, a con artist and ultimately a killer — a vocal minority repeatedly demanded a news black out. Nearly every story I’ve written has brought phone calls, e-mails, reader comments and letters-to-the-editor demanding that we stop.
Everett’s my hometown, too. I’ve covered crime here since the 1980s. Digging into Forde’s life of crime and Minuteman activism was like unraveling a Ponzi scam. Instead of empty bank accounts, though, this one ended in gunfire. She is, hands down, one of the most dangerous criminals to come from this place. Her future is death row in Arizona and what may be years of legal battles over whether she’ll ultimately get the lethal injection that a jury believes she’s earned.
To those who would wish the Forde story away, prepare for disappointment. We’ll have to write about her more in the years ahead. It’s our job.
And there are reasons to pay attention. Forde founded her Minutemen American Defense group right here. The Southern Poverty Law Center, in a report making headlines today, singles out Forde’s case as an example of the potential danger associated with such outfits. Shouldn’t there be some discussion about what that means?
Others around the country are remembering the youngest of Forde’s victims. Brisenia Flores was just 9. As Seattle journalist Dave Neiwert reports in this powerful essay from Arivaca, she was beloved in her community. She was killed by somebody who came from here.
Ignore that if you must. Some of us can’t.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
